Inside SEMC Spring 2016 Southeastern Museums Conference

INSIDE S E MC

spring 2016 | www.semcdirect.net The Newsletter of the Southeastern Museums Conference 

ON THE COVER Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the 2016 SEMC annual meeting hosts.

22 Executive Director’s Notes Susan Perry

6

Registration Basics: SEMC Annual Meeting 2016 JIMI 2016

7

10 18

My Twitter Adventure Zinnia Willits, Director of Collections Administration, Gibbes Museum of Art 2016 Museums Advocacy Day

22 25

Curator’s Corner Ann Rowson Love Curatorial Collaboration in a Learning Organization

2

56 A Special Thanks Endowment and Membership Contributions

31

38 Congratulations 40 Construction 50 Exhibitions 52 Innovations 62 People and Places 66 What’s Happening 69 Important Dates 72 SEMC Job Forum 72 Get Social with SEMC 72 SEMC Membership Form 73 Acquisitions

3

semc Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi

North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia West Virginia U.S. Virgin Islands Puerto Rico

staff Susan S. Perry Executive Director Mary S. Miller Manager of Communications and Member Services

contact semc SEMC | P.O. Box 550746 Atlanta, GA 30355-3246 T: 404.814.2048 or 404.814.2047 F: 404.814.2031 W: www.SEMCdirect.net E: membershipservices@SEMCdirect.net

semc officers David Butler President 865.524.1260 dbutler@knoxart.org Executive Director, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN Darcie MacMahon Vice President 352.273.2053 dmacmahon@flmnh.ufl.edu Exhibits Director, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL Robin Seage Person Secretary 601.442.2901 rsperson@bellsouth.net Branch Director, Historic Jefferson College, Washington, MS Robin Reed Treasurer

Inside SEMC is published four times a year by SEMC. Annual subscription is included in membership dues.

757.690.8962 rreed@fmauthority.com Director, Casemate Museum, Fort Monroe, VA

Design: Nathan W. Moehlmann, Goosepen Studio & Press

Mike Hudson Past President 502.899.2356 mhudson@aph.org

The deadline for the Summer 2016 newsletter is May 16, 2016.

To submit information for the newsletter, please contact the Council Director in your state.

Director, Museum of the American Printing House of the Blind, Louisville, KY

4

semc directors Priscilla Cooper

Elise LeCompte

205.328.9696

352.273.1925 | lecompte@flmnh.ufl.edu

pcooper@bcri.org

Registrar & Asst. Dept. Chair,

Interim President & CEO, Birmingham Civil

Florida Museum of Natural History,

Rights Institute, Birmingham, AL

Gainesville, FL 32611

Dawn Hammatt

Deborah Mack

504.568.6972

202.633.4513 | mackdlynn@si.edu

dhammatt@crt.la.gov

Assoc. Dir. Community & Constituent Services

Dir. of Cultural Services, Louisiana

Smithsonian’s National Museum of African

State Museum, New Orleans, LA

American History and Culture, Wash., D.C.

Julie Harris

Catherine Pears

270.575.9958

318.443.0545

jharris@riverdiscoverycenter.org

cpears@lsua.edu

Executive Director, River Discovery

Executive Director, Alexandria Museum

Center, Paducah, KY

of Art Alexandria, LA 71301

Brian Hicks

Deitrah J. Taylor

662.429.8852

478.320.4010 | dtaylorhistorian@gmail.com

director@desotomuseum.org

Cultural Center Coordinator, The Cultural

Director, Desoto County Museum,

Center, Georgia College and State

Hernando, MS

University, Milledgeville, GA

Kathleen Hutton

Zinnia Willits

336.758.5394

843.722.2706 ext. 32

khutton@wfu.edu

zwillits@gibbesmuseum.org

Dir. of Education, Reynolda House Museum

Dir. of Collections Admin., Gibbes Museum

of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC

of Art, Charleston, SC 29401

Jenny Lamb

Heather Marie Wells

616.356.0501

479.418.5700

jenny.lamb@bellemeadeplantation.com

heathermarie.wells@crystalbridges.org

Dir. of Interpretation & Education,

Digital Media Specialist, Crystal Bridges

Belle Meade Plantation, Nashville, TN

Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR

5

executive director’s notes Susan Perry How do SEMC museums and cultural institutions impact our communities? In a member survey, someone encouraged us to “keep working to reinvent SEMC in a fast changing world.” In 2016 program proposals, I have witnessed museum professionals: • reinventing museums through social media • navigating rapid cultural change • transforming learning in the information age • engaging diverse communities • taking it to the streets • stretching traditional boundaries • evolving thought leaders • developing strategic partners • inspiring the creative age • democratizing the museum • tagging new audiences with open access • measuring wonder How can SEMC ignite you as museum professionals to serve the needs of our rapid changing world?

The 16th Annual Jekyll Island Management Institute (JIMI) was the perfect example of the development of new museum leaders.

Museum professionals provided subject area expertise and practical approaches to administrative challenges from their own experiences.

After sixteen years, 266 JIMI graduates from 29 states plus the District of Columbia are a growing community and network of museum professionals.

In Washington, D.C., I had another opportunity to witness the impact of the museum community in action at AAM’s Museums Advocacy Day and the Council of Regional Associations. In a critical year for federal and state funding, the Southeast had fifty-six museum professionals, including fifteen students, to speak with our elected officials about the economic impact and educational value of museums in our local communities, states and the nation.

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) selected 2016 Great American Museum Advocates, Karla Bailey-Smith and her nine-yearold son Kai Bailey-Smith. When the Illinois State Museum closed because of a major state budget crisis, Kai testified in support of the history museum at a state commission hearing. At the Congressional Reception on February 23, everyone shared Kai’s passion for museums, “learning through play,” and critical need for advocacy. Next year experience the impact of speaking up at Museums Advocacy Day!

SEMC has teamed up with AAM, five other regional associations and state museum associations to conduct a national salary survey. Please participate in this national salary survey.

This study will help us understand how museums and employees are valued in different communities across the nation.

SEMC Council and Program Committee met recently at the Sheraton Charlotte Hotel in uptown Charlotte to make plans for our Annual Conference Octo­ ber 10–12, 2016. SEMC 2016 Annual Conference is an opportunity for change: create immersive experiences, transform learning, engage new audiences, foster creativity, measure wonder, inspire change, and develop relationships within our museum community. We invite you to experience Where Tradition & Innovation Meet in Charlotte!

This year my goal is to strengthen SEMC’s impact by growing a diverse SEMC membership, developing more content, and providing more educational opportunities for future museum leaders. Encourage your institution and colleagues to join SEMC.

6

where TRADITION & INNOVATION meet 2016 SEMC October 10–12, Charlotte, NC

7

where TRADITION

& INNOVATION meet

2016 SEMC October 10–12, Charlotte, NC

Celebrate high-energy racing as well as cosmopolitan art, culture, and history in Charlotte, NC. Experience Charlotte’s Uptown at SEMC evening events on South Tryon Street with the Mint Museum of Art, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, NASCAR Hall of Fame, and Harvey B. Gantt Center and on North Tryon Street with Discovery Place, McColl Center for Art & Innovation, and Levine Museum of the New South. Charlotte Museum of History, Historic Rosedale, Latta Plantation, and Carolina Raptor Center invite explorations from the city center.

The theme of this year’s annual meeting is “Where Tradition & Innovation Meet.” Ignite new ideas for innovative technologies, institutional identity, digital strategy, immersive experiences, transformative experiences. Measure wonder. Get energized with innovative creativity and connect with our communities. Integrate STEAM curriculum, engage new audiences and transform fundraising into philanthropy. SEMC’s Program Committee invites you to meet us in Charlotte to share creative ideas and success stories, explore new directions and emerging trends in museums, and network with the most congenial and supportive group of museum professionals in the nation.

We promise you’ll be energized, enlightened, and entertained. Experience the energy of uptown Charlotte. Join us to discover Where Tradition & Innovation Meet at SEMC 2016 Annual Meeting October 10–12 in Charlotte!

8

PARTICIPANTS AT THE SEMC 2016 ANNUAL MEETING IN CHARLOTTE WILL EXPERIENCE

• Over 54 sessions and workshops on transforming learning in the information age, engaging diverse communities, evolving thoughtful leaders, developing strategic partners, tagging new audiences with open access, democratizing the museum, discovering museum storage solutions, emerging museum professionals, surviving a mid-career crisis, developing STEAM programs, reimagining the traveling exhibit, overcoming disaster, fundraising super hero, taking it to the streets, using 3D printing, inspiring the creative age, measuring wonder, and igniting passion for museums • Space for over 68 exhibitors in the Resource Expo • Uptown evening events on South Tryon Street at Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, and Harvey B. Gantt Center; and on North Tryon Street with Discovery Place, McColl Center for Art & Innovation, and Levine Museum of the New South • Private walking tours of uptown Charlotte’s history and public art, Segway and running tours • Keynote speaker Elizabeth Merritt, Vice President, Strategic Foresight and Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Alliance of Museums • A pre-conference munching tour in Charlotte’s international east side and fun evening at Charlotte Museum of History • Behind-the-Scenes tours of Mint Museum and Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Bank of American STEM Center for Career Development, historic Rosedale, and NASCAR Hall of Fame • A Silent Auction to raise funds for scholarships to SEMC’s 2017 Annual Meeting • Extensive networking with your southeastern museum colleagues

SHERATON CHARLOTTE HOTEL is our host hotel — in the heart of Charlotte’s vibrant uptown

location: Sheraton Charlotte Hotel, 555 South McDowell Street, Charlotte, NC 28204 For reservations, call 1.800.325.3535 or go online at this link: www.starwoodmeeting.com.

Reference the “SEMC” for the conference rate of $146. room rates: $146/Single & Double Room + 15.25% applicable taxes room block cutoff date: Saturday, September 9, 2016, 5:00 pm.

REGISTER NOW ONLINE AT WWW.SEMCDIRECT.NET FOR EARLY DISCOUNTS: Early Bird (5/2 – 7/15). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250 Regular (7/16 – 9/26). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300 Onsite (10/10 – 10/12). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $375 NCMC (5/2 – 9/26). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250 Student (5/2 – 9/26) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125; single day $75; onsite $200 Single Day (4/20 – 9/25). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150; onsite $200 Trustees Single Day (5/2 – 9/26). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75 9

JIMI 2016 Class: front row, l-r: Amy Beisel, Kathie Thurman, LaNesha DeBardelaben, Rebecca Wade, Melina Ludwig, Holly Brown, Allison Hiblong. second row: Danielle Petrak, Lisa Nicoletti, Melissa Parris, Jessica Shillingsford, Ashley Oswald, Kendall Chew, Claire Gwaltney, Debra Watkins. third row: Timothy Barber, Richard Harker, Gary Spencer, Christian Cotz, Ashley Mann.

10

JIMI 2016 Congratulations to the JIMI Class of 2016! This year was a milestone in that we had our first participant from West Virginia (Danielle M. Petrak, The Royce J. & Caroline B. Watts Museum, Morganton). For the first time ever, we had a representative from all of the twelve SEMC states!

A huge shout-out to Gretchen Greminger, Curator, Jekyll Island Museum, who coordinated the local arrangements and set up the classroom and break rooms.

This year marks the third of a three-year partnership with the Association of African-American Museums, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture, and SEMC to sponsor two scholarships and travel stipends for AAAM members. The two John Kinard scholarship awardees were Timothy A. Barber, The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc., Miami and Kendall Chew, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham.

Scholarships and/or travel stipends were provided by the state associations of Arkansas (Alison Hiblong, Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum, North Little Rock), Mississippi (Claire Gwaltney, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson), North Carolina (Sgt. Gary Spencer, North Carolina National Guard Museum and Learning Center of Excellence, Raleigh), and South Carolina (Ashley Oswald, Aiken County Historical Museum, Aiken).

The Peter S. LaPaglia JIMI Scholarship was awarded to Amy M. M. Beisel, International Museum of the Horse, Lexington, KY.

Jamie Credle looking on while Timothy Barber and Ashley Mann make selections in the “Yuck Game.”

11

L-r: Gary C. Spencer, Curator/Historian, North Carolina National Guard Museum and Learning Center of Excellence, Raleigh, NC; Debra Watkins, Education Coordinator (Section Head), Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, AL; Allison Hiblong, Director of Operations, Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum, North Little Rock, AR; Kathie Thurman, Administrative Services Coordinator, Tuscaloosa Museum of Art: Home of Westervelt Collection, Tuscaloosa, AL; Jessica Shillingsford, Site Manager, Duke Homestead State Historic Site, Durham, NC; and Holly M. Brown, Historic Interpreter III , CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center, Kinston, NC. With back to table is Dr. James B. Gardner (JIMI faculty), Executive for Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services, National Archives, Washington, DC.

Gaylord Brothers provided one scholarship which was awarded to LaNesha DeBardelaben, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI. She was also the first JIMI participant from that state. John (JIMI Class of 2006) and Cynthia Lancaster provided a full scholarship to Melina Ludwig, Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Clarksville, TN. In addition, JIMI alumni Col. Buddy Sturgis (Class of 2010) and Stephen Jeffcoat (Class of 2013) provided funds for the South Carolina Military Museum scholarship, awarded to Ashley Mann, Minnestrista, IN. And Holly M. Brown, CSS Neuse Civil War Interpretive Center, Kinston, NC, received a full scholarship from JIMI alumni.

Nathan Moehlmann (Class of 2006) of Goosepen Studio and Press provided a partial scholarship awarded to Jessica Shillingsford, Duke Homestead State Historic Site, Durham, NC. Satilla Computer Solutions, St. Marys, GA, provided $350 as a pizza lunch sponsorship.

“Thank you so very much for your support for JIMI 2016. This SEMC program is an incredible resource that will benefit my career now and for years to come. I can only imagine the broad benefit JIMI has and will have on the field.”

— Jessica Shillingsford

This year was particularly challenging as a blizzard hit the northern East Coast causing the cancellation of Dr. Jim Gardner’s and Rhonda Tyson’s flights. Roads iced over before alternate forms of transportation could be worked out for Rhonda, but Dr. Gardner got out of Washington, D.C. on the last train. After enduring a 19-hour train ride, he finally arrived in Savannah at five o’clock in the morning.

Since Rhonda couldn’t make it, Christian Cotz, Director of Education and Visitor Engagement, James Madison’s 12

JIMI wine and cheese reception. In foreground from left to right, Ashley Oswald, Rebekka Wade, and Melissa Parris are chatting with Amy Beisel (back turned); then Timothy Barber and Jessica Shillingsford are in deep conversation, and in the kitchen are Aaron Berger talking with Lisa Nicoletti.

What’s Your Story?

Design and Build Great exhibits. Immersive media experiences.

We design and build destinations. solidlight-inc.com

13 SEMC 2015 AD

“I just wanted to drop you a very brief email to say thank you so much for your support of the Jekyll Island Management Institute class of 2016! A tremendous amount of work went into organizing this program and it’s so wonderful to know people in the museum field like you value the continuing education of museum professionals such as myself. Thank you so much for an amazing experience!”

— Claire E. Gwaltney

“I cannot express how absolutely amazing the JIMI course was. I came away with so many fantastic ideas, contacts and indispensable knowledge, that words cannot do it justice. For SEMC to sponsor such an invaluable program as this, speaks volumes of the organization.”

— Gary Spencer

Montpelier, Orange, VA, volunteered to share a PowerPoint presentation of their latest exhibit process. Dr. Gardner discussed a national exhibit initiative that he was overseeing for the National Archives and reviewed some exhibit principles.

JIMI alumni Keith Post, Executive Director, St. Marys Submarine Museum, St. Marys, GA/CEO of Satilla Com-

puter Solutions (JIMI Class of 2013), Brenda Baratto (JIMI 2011), Executive Director, Aiken County Historical Museum, Aiken, SC, and Ellen Strojan, Park Ranger/Education Coordinator, Fort Frederica National Park, St. Simons, GA (JIMI Class of 2011) were at the awards banquet to celebrate the latest JIMI-kins. Susan Perry also attended, congratulated the class in her remarks, told them of SEMC activities, and then participated in the awards ceremony.

Afterwards, the newly minted “JIMI-kins” regrouped at the hotel hot tub and enjoyed adult beverages and snacks purchased with funds provided by JIMI alumni. About a third of the class kept the JIMI Polar Bear Club alive by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean!

JIMI LaPaglia Scholarship Recipient Amy M. M. Beisel shares her amazing week I recall hearing about the Jekyll Island Management Institute at my first “real” Museum job. There was buzz about how great it was then. Flash forward to 2014, three states and three jobs later I am lucky enough to attend SEMC in Knoxville and experience one of the best conferences I have ever attended. I was born and raised in the South

celebrating

50 YEARS of elevating the human spirit through design 2101 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia (804) 649-9303 | www.glaveandholmes. com

14

Christian Cotz, Director of Education and Visitor Engagement, James Madison’s Montpelier, Orange, VA, making a presentation to the class about his instititution’s exhibit planning process

“I want to thank you & SEMC for the continued support of the Jekyll Island Management Institute. This has been an invaluable experience that will stay with me for a lifetime!”

— Amy Beisel

PLANNING

CONTENT

and there was no better homecoming! It was there that I met the year’s most recent JIMI graduates and heard about their amazing experiences. That little pocket in my memory recalled hearing great things about this program before and here it is again, going strong, almost 10 years later. I thought, “I should really check this out!” I did and

DESIGN

www.thehistoryworkshop.com

Let Us Tell Your Story 15

L-r: Gary C. Spencer, Curator/Historian, North Carolina National Guard Museum and Learning Center of Excellence, Raleigh, NC; Melina Ludwig, Marketing & Media Director, Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Clarksville, TN; and Richard J. W. Harker, Education and Outreach Manager, Museum of History and Holocaust Education, Kennesaw, GA. Looking on is Dr. James B. Gardner (JIMI faculty), Executive for Legislative Archives, Presidential Libraries, and Museum Services, National Archives, Washington, DC.

Museum Planning Experience Design Exhibit Fabrication

Handling estates and collections with experience and integrity.

Consignments are given maximum worldwide exposure under the stewardship of knowledgeable, accredited professionals.

Call us for a confidential, complimentary evaluation.

Our cataloged auctions include:

 Online Internet bidding  Telephone-assisted bidding

 Absentee maximum bid offers  In-person bidding at the event

All items professionally photographed and cataloged 3,000 registered bidders per live auction Brochures & Emails to 20,000+ art & antique buyers Three accredited appraisers on staff

CASE ANTIQUES, INC. - TNGL#5157 www.caseantiques.com email: info@caseantiques.com Knoxville: (865) 558-3033 Nashville: (615) 812-6096

Like us on Facebook

LAKEPORT PLANTATION LAKE VILLAGE, ARKANSAS

16

after a few years felt that the time was right to consider applying. My Museum had just completed an Interpretive Plan and changes were on the horizon. This was just what I needed to prepare to help my institution through changes and transitions. Happily, I was not only accepted but honored to receive the LaPaglia Scholarship as well.

As I began preparations to attend, my mind reeled with the thought of eight intense days of learning. The schedule looked intimidating. How was I ever going to remember so much stuff?! I have not been in a classroom setting in years! While I was expecting to feel like the first day of school, my insecurities were quieted before I even stepped off the plane in Georgia. I was greeted by fellow classmates on the plane ride and on arrival and we were all as wide-eyed as the other. The initial excitement I felt upon acceptance was returning. This was going to be great … and it was!

It was intense, but when you are learning from people who are not only knowledgeable and good at what they do, but passionate about it as well, the days sail by. Every instructor was top in their field and the energy they brought to our little sunlit room in the historic district was inspiring.

We learned about where Museums are heading and programs to help us get there, critical institutional planning processes, development, marketing, leadership, management, collections, exhibitions and ethics. If it can happen in a Museum you bet we covered it! It was a great learning environment where you were not only taught but encouraged to share your experiences and insights. Questions were welcomed and we were challenged to not only think about the topic at hand but also about the role we play in it daily at home.

Naturally, I do not think any of us could have kept our wheels turning without each other’s support as well. I believe I learned as much from my classmates and our conversations over meals and breaks as I did in the classroom. The Museum careers we were each from were as diverse as our instructors which made for an amazing group of friends in the end. I will forever value my time at JIMI and know I will always have this dedicated network that I can call on should I need. If you think, guess, reckon, suppose or believe that you should apply for JIMI, you should! You will not regret it for a second! Unending thanks to all those dedicated to JIMI, to SEMC, and to the Peter S. LaPaglia Scholarship fund for keeping the “…heart and soul of JIMI” alive.

John Kinard Scholarship Fund Recipients The John Kinard Scholarship recipients for the 16th annual Jekyll Island Management Institute (JIMI 2016) were Timothy Barber, Executive Director, The Black Archives History & Research Foundation, and Kendall Chew, Education Department Assistant, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute Thanks to the generosity of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) was able to offer the John Kinard Scholarship Fund for two staff members of AAAM institutional museums or individual AAAM members to attend SEMC’s Jekyll Island Management Institute (JIMI). The John Kinard Scholarship Fund is established in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Created by an Act of Congress in 2003, the Museum is scheduled to open on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 2016. For information on the Museum’s current programs and exhibitions visit www.nmaahc.si.edu or call 202.633.4751.

Exhibits | Planning | REsEaRch | gRaPhics | aV MEdia

Exhibit: RIGGSWARD.COM 804 .254 .1740

“EyE On thE caPitOl” ViRginia statE caPitOl VisitOR cEntER

17

My Twitter Adventure ZI N NI A WI LLI TS Director of Collections Administration, Gibbes Museum of Art

A

s an individual of a certain age, my relationship with social media has been tenuous at best. I am of the generation that did not have email until college and, even then, it was so new that no one really used it.

I did not even access the Internet until I was in graduate school! I also grew up playing on metal playground

equipment over concrete surfaces … so perhaps you can guess my age.

I recall hearing about Facebook many years ago from some of the Gibbes college-age interns and thinking, “Wow, Facebook sounds annoying!” I avoided it completely for a few years. However I grew up in the Chicago area, which

18

meant that I had an entire lifetime of friends, relatives and experiences that are separate from my current life in South Carolina. At some point, the lightbulb went off that Facebook was an easy way to reconnect with people from my past. I joined Facebook in 2003 and I admit that it has become a daily part of my life. However, Facebook and my professional Linked In account were as far as I wanted to go.

When I first heard about Twitter, with its 140 characters and hashtags, I again thought, “Why do I need to do this?”

I am sure I am showing my age, but the nuances, etiquette and immediacy of Twitter was just not something I wanted to dive in to. I did not intend to ever tweet. For years, I was able to say, “Sorry, no Twitter account.” Moreover,

I survived, proving that it is possible to live a fulfilled, socially connected life without Twitter … really!

Fast forward to September 2015 when the Gibbes suddenly found itself without a Communications Manager, a position that has always handled the Museum’s social media accounts. While the Gibbes ultimately made the decision to contract out marketing, social media was not part of the deal. As a result, our staff did what we always do, stepped up to handle the situation. We discussed social media offerings at a meeting and several staff members expressed interest in taking on the extra responsibilities. A Gibbes staffer graciously agreed to handle the Gibbes Facebook page and another staffer volunteered to do Instagram postings. But, what about Twitter? Direc19

tor, Angela Mack, asked, “Who wants to tweet for the Museum?” and the silence that ensued was deafening. I really thought our younger staff would jump all over this, but the pressure to tweet and hashtag constantly and be clever in 140 characters and represent the Museum well and not sound silly or make typos that 4000+ people might see was a seemingly overwhelming responsibility.

Then … as is often the case with me … my mouth opened and the following words came out “I’ll try Twitter.” WHAT JUST HAPPENED? I think I literally stunned myself, but before I had a chance to utter another word, the entire staff response was “Great … thanks … done.”

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t a complete verbal anomaly that I volunteered for Twitter. It was a topic of discussion at EVERY museum professional conference I have attended over the past few years. There are sessions about how to Tweet for your museum, how to hashtag, how to use Twitter to engage millennials, how to use it to promote exhibitions, how to connect, how to open doors. It is everywhere and I had a growing sense that this was something I should at least understand and learn about its value to the 21st century museum. Twitter is not going anywhere and neither am I; we need to be friends.

Now I had the opportunity to learn about Twitter on behalf of my institution without the pressure of having my own account. It was time to dive in and tweet! Lasley

same object, different perspectives...

Steever, Director of Public Programs and Special events, who had some experience with Twitter, helped me log into the Gibbes account and gave me a brief tutorial. I will admit that the first time I looked at Twitter I experienced temporary paralysis and immediately thought, “WHY did I say I would do this?” Unlike Facebook, which seems to move at much slower pace, Twitter updates come pouring in by the second. I sat in front of my computer for an hour (good use of my time right?) watching tweets roll in from the 400+ entities that the Gibbes already follows, mesmerized by the variety of posts and hashtags and retweets. I became extremely paranoid about what I would tweet, because whatever I wrote, there was the potential for literally thousands of people to see it! What should I tweet about? On any given day, the Gibbes has multiple classes and programs going on. We have events coming up. Should I tweet about those and “tag” people involved?

Should I make up hashtags? I didn’t even understand the whole hashtag thing. My questions and fear of tweeting something silly continued, so I closed Twitter and went on with my day. However, I could not. I had to get a tweet out as the Gibbes had been in a Twitter silence for weeks due to our change in staffing. I finally reopened the application and thought, “Ok, I’ll tweet about something I know, something I am living with every day,” the Gibbes renovation. I posted a picture of the outside of the Museum with scaffolding still up and put some sort of hashtag on it and made a comment about renovation progress and

CULTURECONNECT

TAKING MUSEUMS MOBILE. Beautiful smartphone and tablet apps are not out of reach with CultureConnect. Schedule a complementary mobile consultation today to get started: hello@cultureconnectme.com WWW.CULTURECONNECTME.COM

mcleod plantation | charleston, sc Power. Depression. Freedom. Slavery.

A cotton gin meant something very different to a plantation owner and an enslaved laborer. Interpretation at this new heritage site offers visitors the perspectives of generations of African Americans during their long transition to freedom.

www.thedesignminds.com

20

hit “Tweet,” and then closed the application to move on with my day. When I checked back later that tweet had been retweeted and “liked” and the Gibbes had gained a bunch of new followers. This initial success made me realize that tweeting really was not as a big a deal as I was making it, and there was no need to put pressure on myself to send out the perfect tweet! The more I began to tweet (about the art collection, about the renovation, about the new collection storage space, about our programs) the more I began to realize that the beauty of Twitter is the immediate engagement. Each bit of information pushed out there touches one of our followers in a different way.

Some are interested in the building renovation and some are not. It does not matter, it is the fact that we are making the effort to communicate with everyone!

Back to the present day, I am still handling the Gibbes Twitter account. Those of us working on social media have received some training on how to use the various applications more effectively. I still get a thrill when someone retweets something I have posted, or if other entities tag the Gibbes account and engage with us to share their excitement about our renovation or new logo or great press we have been getting. Every now and then, I decide to be more proactive with the tweets as well. One day I posted a lovely picture I had taken in the cypress swamp at Caw Caw Interpretive Center and tagged Charleston County Parks mentioning that is was easy to see where

Charleston artists get their inspiration for many of the landscape paintings in our permanent collection. This tweet led to a retweet from Charleston County Parks and a direct engagement/conversation about possible collaborative programs. THIS is the power of Twitter! I get it! I am not intimidated by it anymore and feel empowered to tweet about all kinds of things on behalf of the Gibbes; someone out there will be interested!

I am still a Twitter novice at best and it is difficult at times to get regular posts in (as I have a few other projects to juggle now…ahem…the unpacking and reinstallation of our entire art collection…) but I am doing my best. So, if you are a Gibbes Twitter follower now you know who is behind the tweets. If you follow us, THANK YOU … and please know that every retweet and “like” on our posts gives me inspiration to tweet more!

We scanned Marilyn.

We converted Nixon.

We cleaned up Elvis.

Honest.

The Crowley Company’s front-end capture systems and comprehensive conversion services make the process of archiving images and records – dare we say it? – historically simple.

Major collections | Single items | World record prices Providing a full range of auction and appraisal services for museums and non-profit institutions Skinner Appraisal Services: 508.970.3299 evaluations@skinnerinc.com

If you can see it, we can scan it.

Agnes Martin (Canadian/American, 1912-2004) Blue Flower, 1962, sold for $1,539,000 Monumental Fencai Flower and Landscape Vase, sold for $24,723,000 Alexander Calder, Untitled (Pin), sold for $111,000

Boston | Marlborough | Miami | New York | www.skinnerinc.com MA/lic. #2304

240.215.0224

thecrowleycompany.com

21

2016 Museums Advocacy Day Joined by 55 museum professionals from the Southeast, SEMC President David Butler and SEMC Executive Director Susan Perry traveled to Washington, D.C. February 22–23 to participate in the eighth annual Museums Advocacy Day organized by the American Alliance of Museums.

The SEMC contingent, along with 252 museum professionals and supporters from around the country,

converged on Capitol Hill to advocate for federal support of America’s museums. Armed with powerful research and stories on the economic, educational, and community impact museums make locally and nationally they visited 368 Congressional offices to make the case that museums are essential and worthy of federal support.

Adovcacy Day was a huge success.

As of mid-March, there were 91

signers on the House letter, including four new House Republicans, and 23 signers on the Senate letter.

Many offices report they are signing on because an advocate asked them to. So your efforts really do matter.

Congratulations to SEMC Executive Director Susan Perry. This year she participated in her fifth Museums Advocacy Day and was recognized for her support at the event’s Sunday evening reception.

22

SEMC President David Butler and Executive Director Susan Perry with Jason Jones, MMA (far left), Monta Lee Dakin, MPMA (middle) and Dan Yaeger, NEMA (far right) at the Advocacy Day Reception in the Kennedy Caucus Room. below: Fifty-five museum professionals from the Southeast attended the 2016 Museums Advocay Day in Washington, D.C.

Mississippi Advocacy Day The Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., wasn’t the only Advocacy Day happening this spring. The Mississippi Museums Association held a Mississippi State Advocacy Day on January 28, 2016. MMA members met with state lawmakers to make the case for state funding of museums.

23

curator’s corner

24

Curatorial Collaboration

in a Learning Organization

Ann Rowson Love Assistant Professor, Museum Education & Visitor-Centered Exhibitions MA/PhD Program, Department of Art Education, Florida State University

I

n the last issue of Inside SEMC, Winter 2016, art museum curator Victoria Cooke described the importance of collaborative curatorial efforts during the process of exhibition development, both inside and outside the museum. Studying and trying to better understand the nature of curatorial collaboration is one of my research specialties (Love, A. R., 2013). When asked to join the curatorial research panel at SEMC’s annual conference in Jacksonville, I took the opportunity to share pivotal literature and processes that assisted the curatorial paradigm shift from single expert (curator) to collaborative endeavors that include museum staff members from across departments and identified experts from the community. This changing paradigm reflects an overall change in museum organizational structure from more hierarchical to more collaborative overall — embracing the notion of becoming a learning organization.

Museological Shifts Toward Curatorial Collaboration A number of museum and cultural theorists, including practitioners, articulated changes in museum organizational structures toward more collaborative models, particularly since the early 1990s. Although there are too many to name here, a few key writings illustrate the pathway to more collaborative and community-based collaboration. Langsted (1990) described two orientations of cultural policy — democratization of culture and cultural democracy. Translating these cultural policies into museum roles in society, the former, democratization of 25

culture, represents a traditional orientation highlighting the educational importance of sharing expertise with broad audiences. In the latter, or cultural democracy approach, the orientation shifts to the needs and participation of the community with social change in mind. Underscoring the nature of museum functions, exhibiting and educating, Van Mensch (1990) brought them together as one function – communicating. In 1992, Hirzy called for diversification of museum roles and functions including exhibition development and broadening the definition of who is a curator.

Stephen Weil’s (1999) enduring essay about transforming museums from “being about something to being for somebody,” advocated rethinking museum missions and encouraged more participatory practices.

What is a Learning Organization?

In order to create a culture of collaboration, museum leaders leaned on business and corporate strategies such as those articulated by Peter Senge (2006) in The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization.

A learning organization thrives on teamwork. Leaders, who help facilitate teamwork, see themselves as designers, teachers, and learners. Collaboration, or teamwork, is all a part of a larger organization. Thus, teams need to keep the overall organization in mind during collaborative efforts. A learning organization uses a systems thinking approach, where individuals and departments are part of

a bigger whole. When applied to museums, the museum is also a part of a bigger whole — the community. Jung (2011) refers to this notion as an ecosystem where museums are interconnected to their communities and the larger world.

During teamwork, such as exhibition development, having a co-learning mindset is crucial. The curatorial team is made up of different expertise that is essential from the start of exhibition development through fruition. Essentially, this approach moves away from the traditional model (Fig. 1) — what Pat Villeneuve and I refer to as the “lone creative” — to a co-creative, co-learning process (Love & Villeneuve, 2015). In a co-learning collaboration, key staff and community members participate in exhibition development throughout the process. The process is more dialogic and will look different for each exhibition development team (Fig. 2).

In my research, I found Preskill and Torres’s Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (1999) a helpful map for visualizing how exhibition development team members can see their work as individuals, as team members, and as contributors to overall museum culture (Fig. 3). I also find that evaluative inquiry’s foundation as an evaluation method ensures evaluation will become an inherent part of the process (Love, 2013). The dialogic aspect of this process should avoid simple consensus. Rather, team members should question and reflect upon their

info@maloneinc.com (770) 987-2538 www.maloneinc.com

26

Concept/Research Question

Articulating a Concept

Research

Conducting Research

Programming

Object Selection Interpretive Planning (Gallery text, publication development) Budget Preparation

Design/Installation

Programming

Designing/ Installing the Space

Object Selection

Proposing a Budget

Preparing an Interpretaion Plan

Fig. 1. Traditional curatorial model as lone creative

Fig. 2. Example of collaborative curatorial process as a dialogical process (Love, 2013).

curatorial roles, working to define exhibition big ideas and goals through continual reflection, dialogue, and debate.

There should be consistent facilitation throughout the process. I use evaluative inquiry for training new curators

and museum educators. In 2014, Pat Villeneuve and I initiated a new MA/PhD program, Museum Education & Visitor-Centered Exhibitions, where we incorporate collaborative curatorial processes.

MBA Design & Display Products Corporation Mila-wall® Movable Wall Systems

Finally! Cloud-based museum admissions, membership, fundraising, & marketing all in one place.

Find out more: www.patrontechnology.com | 212.271.4328

www.mbawalls.com

27

Jung, Y. (2011). “The Art Museum Ecosystem: A New Alternative Model.” Museum Management and Curatorship, 26(4), 321–338.

Langsted, J. (1990). Double Strategies in a Modern Cultural Policy. Cos Cob, CT: Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc. Love, A. R. (2013). “Inclusive Curatorial Practices: Facilitating Team Exhibition Planning in the Art Museum Using Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations” (2013). Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 7586. http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd/7586 Love, A. R., & Villeneuve, P. (2015). (2015, March). “The Problem of the Lone Creative as Curator: A Systems Thinking Approach to Preparing Future Edu-Curators.” Paper presented at the Higher

Fig. 3. Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations (Preskill & Torres, 1999, p. 1)

Note: A good set of guidelines for establishing collaborative curatorial work that includes community curators can be found in Villeneuve’s Supported Interpretation (SI) model (Villeneuve & Viera, 2014). The guidelines include selecting suitable team members from museum staff and community, focusing on visitor needs, providing cues for visitors, establishing multiple ways to engage in the exhibition, among other steps. references

Education Division Issues Forum at the National Art Education Association National Convention, New Orleans, LA. McLean, K. (2011). “Whose Questions, Whose Conversations? In B. Adair, B. Filene, & Koloski, L. (Eds.) Letting Go: Sharing Historical Authority in a User-Generated World (pp, 70–79). Philadelphia: Pew Center for Arts and Heritage/Left Coast Press.

Preskill, H., & Torres, R. T. (1999). Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.

Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday.

Van Mensch, P. (1990). “Methodological Museology, or Towards a Theory of Museum Practice.” In S. Pearce (Ed.), Objects of Knowledge (pp. 141–157). London: Athlone.

Villeneuve, P., & Viera, A. (2014). “Supported Interpretation: Exhibiting for Audience Engagement.” The Exhibitionist Journal, 33(1), 54-61.

Hirzy, E. C. (1992). Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public

Weil, S. (1999). “From Being about Something to Being for Somebody:

Dimension of Museums. Washington, D.C.: American Association

The Ongoing Transformation of the American Museum.” Daedalus,

of Museums.

128(3), 229–258.

28

CHCHARLTON HALL

Discover Extraordinary Objects

Actively Seeking Institution Consignments for Upcoming Museum Sale Events

The Southeast’s Oldest Auction Firm

Discreetly Assisting Museums For Over 86 Years Personal Service • Global Reach • Remarkable Results

Museum Vaults December 2015

87th Anniversary February 2016

7 Lexington Dr., West Columbia, SC 29170

T: 803-779-5678

Important Collections April 2016

www.CharltonHallAuctions.com 29

Proud supporter of the Southeastern Museums Conference

CO.

INC.

888 802 4459

30

A SPECIAL THANKS SEMC Endowment Contributions Many thanks to our endowment contributors for investing in the future of SEMC! When you are thinking of honoring or remembering someone, please consider a contribution to the SEMC endowment. For more information, contact Executive Director Susan Perry at 404.814.2048 or sperry@semcdirect.net.

Linda W. Bitley David Butler Brian Hicks Kathleen F.G. Hutton Mary D. LaGue Dana-Marie Lemmer Deborah Lynn Mack R. Andrew Maass Robin Seage Person Robin Edward Reed Michelle Schulte Robert P. Sullivan Deitrah J. Taylor Heather Marie Wells Glenn Willumson

THE PAST PRESIDENTS CIRCLE Members of the Past Presidents Circle contribute $150 annually for at least two years to the endowment fund: George Bassi Sharon Bennett Tom Butler Tamra Sindler Carboni Micheal A. Hudson Douglas Noble Robert Rathburn Graig D. Shaak Robert Sullivan Kristin Miller Zohn

THE WILLIAM T. AND SYLVIA F. ALDERSON ENDOWMENT FELLOWS Twenty-six members of SEMC have made commitments of distinction as Alderson Fellows. Their investment of at least $1,000 each is a significant leadership gift, reflective of a personal commitment to the professional association that has meant so much to each of them.

Platinum Alderson Fellows (minimum $5,000) Sylvia F. Alderson

Bob Rathburn Graig D. Shaak Nancy & Robert Sullivan Medallion Alderson Fellows (minimum $2,500) George Bassi Sharon Bennett Tamra Sindler Carboni Martha Battle Jackson Pamela Meister Richard Waterhouse Our Current Alderson Fellows (minimum $1,000) T. Patrick Brennan Michael Brothers W. James Burns David Butler Horace Harmon Pamela Hisey Micheal Hudson Rick Jackson Andrew Ladis Allyn Lord Michael Anne Lynn R. Andrew Maass Darcie MacMahon Robin Seage Person Allison Reid Steve Rucker Kristin Miller Zohn

31

THE PETER S. LAPAGLIA JIMI SCHOLARSHIP FUND Established in 2008 to honor Pete LaPaglia’s dedication to the museum field and recognize his inspirational leadership of SEMC’s Jekyll Island Management Institute, this fund helps endow an annual JIMI scholarship. 2016 marks JIMI’s 16th anniversary, and SEMC has brought the fund’s total to over $17,575.

Laura C. Anderson Brenda Baratto Carolyn Reams Heather Marie Wells Shannon Whetzel

OTHER SEMC CONTRIBUTIONS These funds contribute to the annual meeting or to the general operating funds for SEMC: Brenda Baratto (JIMI) Aaron Berger (JIMI)

Christian Edwards (JIMI) Emily Epley (JIMI) Will Guzman, Ph.D. (JIMI) Dawn Deano Hammatt Martha Battle Jackson (JIMI) Steven Jeffcoat (JIMI) Julie Kowalsky (JIMI) John S. Lancaster (JIMI) Elise V. LeCompte (JIMI) Deborah Lynn Mack Danyelle McNeill (JIMI) Nathan Moehlmann (JIMI) Laura Orr (JIMI) Keith F. Post (JIMI) Amanda Rose (JIMI) Ellen Strojan (JIMI) Julie Bledsoe Thomas (JIMI) Renee Walker-Tuttle (JIMI) Michael Scott Warren (JIMI) Josh White (JIMI) John A. Woods (Annual Meeting) Catherine Wright (JIMI)

MUSEUMRAILS

™

Modular Reader Rail System

This room gallery installation includes the integrated retractable belt barrier option, providing flexible visitor separation where additional interpretive space is not required.

STUDIO AMMONS.COM SEMC 2015

elverhøj Museum Solvang, CA

MuseuMRails.coM 888.672.1890

We now have our Gsa contract

SEMC quarterly ad.11.15.indd 1

11/17/15 12:02 PM

32

New or Renewal Memberships Received

Eden Meirow, Jacksonville, Florida Megan Sauter, Frankfort, Kentucky

SEMC thanks those who have renewed or joined our organization for the first time between November 2015 and January 2016. Without your support and participation we could not provide region wide services such as our Mentor, Awards, and Scholarship programs, as well as our outstanding Annual Meetings and nationally acclaimed Jekyll Island Management Institute. If you are an individual member and your museum is not an institutional member, please encourage them to join.

For information on memberships and benefits contact Mary Miller, Manager of Communications and Member Services, at mmiller@semcdirect.net or 404.814.2047.

For your convenience, the last page of this newsletter is a membership application For your convenience, the last page of this newsletter is a membership application.

STUDENT ($25) Tamara Brothers, Fayetteville, North Carolina Allison Guzy, Miami, Florida Caleb Knies, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

INDIVIDUAL ($45) Robyn Adams, Cayce, South Carolina Emilie Arnold, Orlando, Florida Judith Bonner, New Orleans, Louisiana Staci Catron, Atlanta, Georgia Ronald Daniel, Cullman, Alabama Char Downs, Paducah, Kentucky Lesleyanne Drake, Naples, Florida Matthew Edwards, Mount Airy, North Carolina Matt Farah, New Orleans, Louisiana David Goist, Asheville, North Carolina Mary Hauser, Raleigh, North Carolina Michele Houck, Huntersville, North Carolina Marian Inabinett, High Point, North Carolina FrannMarie Jacinto, Woodbridge, Virginia Robin Kilgo, Big Pine Key, Florida Annelies Mondi, Athens, Georgia Kathryn Naylor, Decatur, Georgia Megan O’Neill, Atlanta, Georgia Sharon Pekrul, Columbia, South Carolina

Masterpak Ad 4_5x4_75_Layout 1 6/24/14 4:25 PM Page 1

MASTERPAK

®

unique and archival materials for the protection of fine art 

Archival Tissues, Papers, Films, Boards & Tapes



Archival Rolling & Storage Tubes



Softwrap® - Tyvek® & Nomex® by



Ethafoam®, Cellu-Cushion® & Volara® Foams



MasterPak & PrintPak Art Shipping Containers



PEM2® Temp & RH Data Loggers designed by IPI



Oz Clips® & More…

A Swatchbook of our Conservation Papers & Wraps and our Catalog are available upon request

www.masterpak-usa.com 800-922-5522

us Ask t our u nth o b a /mo $49 YAudio DI ides Gu

Visit Our Website

Say hello to the leading digital storytelling platform for museums & historic sites.

Award-winning mobile web & native apps • Audio tours Scavenger hunts & games • Beacons • Google Field Trip Onsite devices • Mobile giving • Audio & video production www.oncell.com • info@oncell.com • (585) 419-9844

33

Jerry Raisor, Owenton, Kentucky Mary Anne Redding, Boone, North Carolina James Shepp, Winter Park, Florida Betsy Trope, Atlanta, Georgia Kevin Tucker, Palm Harbor, Florida Kristin Veit, New Orleans, Louisiana John White, Jr., Norcross, Georgia Jewdeia Williams-Olmsted, North Las Vegas, Nevada Deborah Woodiel, Powell, Tennessee Warren Woods, New Orleans, Louisiana Kathleen Young, Vicksburg, Mississippi

BENEFACTOR ($75) Freda Mindlin, New York, New York Steven Rosen, FIALD, Salem, Massachusetts Virginia Shearer, Atlanta, Georgia William Worthen, Little Rock, Arkansas

RETIRED ($25) R. Andrew Maass, Longboat Key, Florida

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBER (Category 1: $50 ) Aldie Mill & Mt. Zion Historic Parks, Aldie, Virginia Arkansas National Guard Museum, North Little Rock, Arkansas Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, Florida Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina Gaston County Museum, Dallas, North Carolina HistoryMiami, Miami, Florida Iron & Steel Museum of AL, McCalla, Alabama Ky. Native American Heritage Museum, Inc, Corbin, Kentucky LaGrange Art Museum, LaGrange, Georgia Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida Maier Museum of Art, Lynchburg, Virginia Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, North Carolina Pendleton District Commission, Pendleton, South Carolina SC Confederate Relic Room & Museum, Columbia, South Carolina

Central Gallery, Florida Museum of Natural History

100% ONLINE Museum Planning

MASTER OF ARTS

Exhibition Design

Museum Design

w w w . h e a l y k o h l e r. c o m

Environmental Graphics

202.774.5555

in Museum Studies

First Colony: Our Spanish Origins, Florida Museum of Natural History

34

South Carolina Military Museum, Columbia, South Carolina Virginia Beach History Museums, Virginia Beach, Virginia Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia Wofford College, Spartanburg, South Carolina (Category 2: $150 ) Abraham Lincoln Library & Museum, Harrogate, Tennessee Amory Regional Museum, Amory, Mississippi Andrew Low House, Savannah, Georgia C.H. Nash Museum, Memphis, Tennessee Coastal Heritage Society, Savannah, Georgia Dade Heritage Trust, Miami, Florida Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, Florida Gadsden Museum of Art, Gadsden, Alabama Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia Iredell Museum, Statesville, North Carolina James K. Polk Home, Columbia, Tennessee Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, Georgia SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah , Georgia Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana

(Category 3: $250 ) Menokin Foundation, Warsaw, Virginia (Category 4: $350 ) Anniston Museum of Natural History, Anniston, Alabama Bailey-Matthews Shell Foundation, Sanibel, Florida Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at AU, Auburn, Alabama Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina Museum of Art DeLand Florida, DeLand, Florida (Category 5: $450 ) Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Charlotte, North Carolina American Civil War Museum, Richmond, Virginia Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery, Greenville, South Carolina Burritt on the Mountain, Huntsville, Alabama Historic Columbia Foundation, Columbia, South Carolina Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Mississippi Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Jackson, Mississippi

BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY

BEACONS BEACONS Visit our booth at the expo to learn how micro-location can revolutionize your visitor experience and boost customer engagement.

Providing next gen marketing technology, data driven solutions and product development. http://ALLOY.digital

Specialists in Transportation of Museum Exhibits and Displays Specialists in Transportation of Museum Exhibits and Displays 60 years, Charlotte Van & Storage For 60 Foryears, Charlotte Van & Storage has provided transportation services for for has provided transportation services museums nationwide. Please call today to museums nationwide. Please call today to discuss how Charlotte Van can aid you in your discuss how Charlotte Van can aid you in your exhibit and museum transportation needs!

exhibit and museum transportation needs!

Frank Watson III ~ President | 704.560.6683 Frank Watson, III 704­560­6683 Official Carrier of Our Body: The Universe Within

Official Carrier of Our Body: The Universe Within

powered by

35

Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, Tennessee The Children’s Museum of The Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina The Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee University of Alabama Museums, Tuscaloosa, Alabama UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, Texas

Interactive Knowledge, Charlotte, North Carolina Manask & Associates, Burbank, California Our Fundraising Search, Atlanta, Georgia Transport Consultants International, Lithia, Florida (Corporate Friend $1,000 ) Lord Aeck Sargent, Atlanta, Georgia

(Category 6: $550 ) Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers, Florida Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina National World War II Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana

CORPORATE MEMBERS (Business Associate $350 ) Capital Development Services, Winston-Salem, North Carolina Foos for Thought, Baton Rouge, Louisiana ANR Transport LLC, Houston, Texas Gallagher & Associates, Silver Spring, Maryland

Great exhibits deserve great lighting.

Contact us to find out how we can bring new life to your exhibits.

www.fiberopticlighting.com tel. 941-343-8115 or 800-UFO-5554

36

JOIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF

Museum Leaders Earn an MA in Museum Studies or Graduate Certificate in Digital Curation > Part-time programs > Online courses, small classes > Expert faculty from around the world > Emphasis on global perspectives and the critical role of technology in today’s museum > Apply online year round

Get started here

museumstudies.jhu.edu

Museum Interactive Guide from

Prism Technologies

AFFORDABLE

EASY-TO-IMPLEMENT

HOLISTIC SYSTEM

MUSEUM INTERACTIVE GUIDE

museums collections care performing arts visitor centers archives

MOBILE APP & BEACON TECHNOLOGY CURATOR PORTAL TO CHANGE DATA INTERACTIVE APPLICATIONS WAYFINDING AND KIOSKS INTERACTIVE GAMES DIGITAL AND INTERACTIVE CATALOG FOR EXHIBITS

SmartPhone App

www.smithgroupjjr.com

Wayfinding

Mobile App

Social Media

Curatol Portal

Visit Wizard

Exhibits

Daily Events

Tours

Games

Devices to Rent

www.prismtechnologiesinc.com 770-446-9399 sales@prismtechnologiesinc.com

Copyright © 2015 Prism Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

37

acquisitions GEORGIA In 2015, the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia added 320 objects to its permanent collection through gift or purchase. Two of these objects are especially important: a 17th-century portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck and an American Impressionist painting

by Frederick Carl Frieseke. Both paintings are on view in the museum’s permanent collection galleries.

Van Dyck’s painting, a large portrait of Archbishop William Laud, was donated to the museum by Dr. and Mrs. M. Daniel Byrd, of Atlanta. Van Dyck, a native of Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands, became the premier court painter in England under the patronage of King Charles I. Trained as an artist from the age of ten, he opened a studio with his friend and fellow artist Jan Brueghal the Younger by the age of fifteen. The painting is on display in the museum’s H. Randolph Holder Gallery. Lynn Boland, Pierre Daura

Curator of European Art, said, “This world-class example of 17th-century portraiture, offering multiple avenues for interdisciplinary study, will serve as a lynchpin for the museum’s small but important collection of European Painting.”

The museum purchased Frieseke’s Girl Sewing (The Chinese Robe) with funds given by the Chu Family Foundation. Dr. David Chu is a distinguished research professor emeritus in UGA’s College of Pharmacy. Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator of American art, said, “Frieseke was an important force in American Impressionism, particularly among those Americans working in the colony of Giverny, France, adjacent to Claude Monet’s gardens. He enjoyed great popularity on both sides of the Atlantic.

This particular work not only fills what had been a major gap in the genre within our collection, but also very much complements our current holdings in American Impressionism.”

WHERE VISION BECOMES REALITY

Museums Trade Shows Corporate Environments 5960 W. Crenshaw St Tampa, FL 33634

813-887-1960 Toll free: 800-710-1322 www.admtwo.com

TM

38

Anthony van Dyck and studio (Flemish, 1599–1641), Portrait of Archbishop William Laud, ca. 1637–38, Oil on canvas, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. M. Daniel Byrd, GMOA 2015.227.

Frederick Carl Frieseke (American, 1874–1939, Girl Sewing (The Chinese Robe), 1931, Oil on canvas, Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Chu Family Foundation, GMOA 2015.316.

The Ultimate Medium Format Capture Solution H5Dc Multi-Shot

GOOSEPEN

Setting a new standard for matchless detail in digital photographic reproduction and image perfection.

book design and production goosepenpress.com | 828.850.2705

Find out more at www.hasselblad.com | Distributed by Hasselblad Bron, Inc. 1-800-367-6434 www.hasselbladbron.com

Hasselblad_MS_SEMC.indd 1

8/6/15 12:31 PM

39

congratulations

Mountain Heritage Center of WCU and (bottom) the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses.

40

SMALL MUSEUMS ACCREDITATION ACADEMY Two museums in the Southeast — the Mountain Heritage Center of WCU and the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses — were part of the inaugural class of AAM’s Small Museums Accreditation Academy. ¶ The Academy is a new online AAM initiative, funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts and assisted by an advisory panel of leaders in the museum field, aimed at preparing smaller institutions for the accreditation process. The program combines live sessions, mentoring, and collaborative activities for staff and governing authority members. It is designed for high performing organizations with five or fewer staff members that are striving to meet best practices and achieve accreditation.

LOUISIANA Congratulations to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which received a 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for its Teen Docent Program. It was one of only twelve nationally to receive this award that recognizes the country’s best creative youth development programs for increasing academic achievement, graduation rates and college enrollment by engaging children

First Lady Michelle Obama with Kayla Curley and Ellen Balkin at the NAHYPA ceremony at the White House. Photo courtesy Steve Purcell.

and youth in the arts and humanities. The award was presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at an event hosted by the White House on November 18, 2015.

Music Maker Tintype & We Are the Music Makers!

Music Maker's exhibits shine a light on America’s unsung musicians. Our educational photography exhibits are available to suit a variety of museums.

For booking inquiries contact berk@musicmaker.org!

41

Kayla Curley docenting a summer camp group at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Photo courtesy Zack Smith Photography.

International Tennis Hall of Fame Completed May 2015 museum architecture. exhibit design. master planning.

1220 Exhibits WWW.1220.COM

3801 VULCAN DR NASHVILLE, TN 37211

42

NORTH CAROLINA Cape Fear Museum has received two notable grants. The first is a $19,134 grant from the GE Foundation Grant. Funds will be used to transform the Museum’s former retail space into a hands-on learning environment for families. Learning modules, focused on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will be interactive and designed to engage the entire family. Museum Director Sheryl Mays said, “We are grateful to GE for its committed partnership and are excited and eager to utilize their expertise in advancing STEM education in our community.” ¶ The second is a $3,000 grant from the Landfall Foundation. Funds will be used to purchase nature-related play materials and create new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) based family programs in the New Hanover County Cape Fear Museum Park. “We are grateful for the generosity of Landfall Foundation in providing support to expand learning opportunities for families visiting our park,” said Museum Director Sheryl Mays. “These new programs and companion materials will encourage families to discover STEM in their everyday lives, use it to solve problems, and have fun outside.” Programs will be offered during spring break and school holidays.

Not all your insurance risks hang on the wall.

Keeping your museum running smoothly and profitably means protecting priceless collections and exhibits from risks.

When it comes to managing risks associated with fine art and valuable objects, no company has greater combined experience, knowledge and capabilities than Travelers. Our business is knowing your business.

Visit us at travelers.com for more information.

It’s better under the umbrella®

travelers.com © 2014 The Travelers Indemnity Company. All rights reserved. Travelers and the Travelers Umbrella logo are registered trademarks of The Travelers Indemnity Company in the U.S. and other countries. IN-00003 Rev. 6-14

43

SOUTH CAROLINA Historic Columbia has published Remembering Columbia, which chronicles the evolution of South Carolina’s capital city from the early 19th century through the late 1970s.

The book covers understudied people, places and events that earlier histories of the capital city omitted. Written

by John Sherrer, Director of Cultural Resources, this large format release from Arcadia Publishing is the culmination of fifteen years of image gathering and six months of intensive writing and editing. Remembering Columbia is the first large-scale publication released under the auspices of Historic Columbia since 1980. It is a testament to not only the strong collections at Historic Columbia but also 44

ISBN-13 978-1-4671-1466-0 ISBN-10 1-4671-1466-9

9 781467 114660

and its environs. Remembering Columbia is the latest historical resource from author John Sherrer, a Columbia native who has benefited from unprecedented access to local archival and private collections in his role as the institution’s director of cultural resources.

R emember ing Columbia

Historic Columbia

Columbia, South Carolina, is very much a tale of two cities.

Founded as a political compromise, forged by an economy shackled by slavery, and physically vanquished by fire, the Palmetto State’s second capital became a proving ground for a new society less than a century after its establishment. During the course of the next 100 years, Columbians—new and old, black and white, rich and poor—would physically transform their city in ways that ref lected their needs, aspirations, fears, and wherewithal.

Remembering Columbia is a visual road map that merges images with accounts of people, sites, and events pulled from historical newspapers, diaries, and ephemera. Building upon the efforts of previous generations, this account explores South Carolina’s capital city from its early years through the mid-20th century in ways previously underdeveloped or altogether unrepresented. The result is an intriguing detective story that will be enriching, surprising, and compelling to life-long residents, newcomers, and visitors alike.

Founded in 1961, Historic Columbia is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to heightening public awareness of and preserving the historic and cultural heritage of Columbia

R em em ber ing Colum bi a

R emember ing Columbi a

$26.99

52699

-!$% ). 4(%

www.arcadiapublishing.com

1466REMEcvr.indd 1

John M . Sher r er III Histor ic Colum bi a 3/16/15 11:35:19 AM

Each image included in Remembering Columbia has a story to tell, including (opposite) this one of a parade in 1949, the negative for which was among a collection of over 1400 images saved from destruction a decade ago. John Sherrer (top), author of Remembering Columbia, is a Columbia native and Historic Columbia’s longest serving staff member. Remembering Columbia, is a series of micro-histories that tie each historic image into larger temporal and thematic narratives.

the profound working relationships the organization has with sister institutions throughout Columbia, including the South Carolina State Museum, McKissick Museum, South Caroliniana Library and the Richland Library’s Walker Local History Room.

45

February 26-27, 2016, the Horry County Museum celebrated its 22nd Annual Quilt Gala at Ocean Lakes Family Camp Ground in Myrtle Beach. The 2016 Featured Quilter was Kathleen Stuart and the two-day event included lectures and quilting demonstrations. Ribbons were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, as well as, Best in Show which is voted on by attendees. The first place winners in all categories are featured in the Horry County Museum’s textile gallery throughout the month of March. œ The Museum hosted the first annual quilt gala in 1994 on the lawn of the old County Courthouse with forty beautiful quilts. The event has continued to grow over

the years and is now a two-day show with an exhibit of nearly 200 quilts and quilted items. A gala is held as a part of the event at the Ocean Lakes Family Camp Ground Recreation Center on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Quilt Gala has been a great opportunity for The Horry County Museum to reach across the waterway and gain exposure in the coastal part of Horry County. It has also formed a wonderful partnership with local quilters and the Ocean Lakes Community.

Thousands of locals and tourist visit the show each year and it has become the top fund raiser of the Friends of the Horry County Museum.

Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency, Inc. Celebrating 50 years of fine art insurance expertise has been achieved through the continued support of our clients in the Southeast Region.

Thank you.

Casey Wigglesworth, Account Executive Direct: 202.429.8590 Toll free: 800.424.8830 Casey.Wigglesworth@aon.com www.huntingtontblock.com

Atlanta | Chapel Hill | Ann Arbor | Austin | Lexington | Washington DC

www.lordaecksargent.com

46

47

48

© Birmingham Museum of Art

© Airborne & Special Operations Museum

© C. M. Russell Museum of Western Art

www.museumfigures.com

800-634-4873 49

construction

Museum operations at Yorktown transitioned into the new building in March 2015.

VIRGINIA When the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown replaces the Yorktown Victory Center in late 2016, it will be among America’s foremost sites that tell the story of the nation’s founding. Through comprehensive indoor exhibits and outdoor living history, the new museum will offer a truly national perspective, conveying a sense of the transformational nature and epic scale of the Revolution and the richness and complexity of the country’s Revolutionary

heritage. ¶ A new 80,000-square-foot building opened in March 2015, and work continues on permanent gallery exhibits and a new introductory film. Today visitors can enjoy showings of Revolution-themed films in the 170-seat theater and a glimpse of the future exhibits, as well as an expansive new gift shop and a cafe. An indoor illustrated timeline spanning the second half of the 18th century leads to the outdoor re-created Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm, located in temporary quarters as construction proceeds on new, expanded settings for 50

these living-history experiences. œ The introductory film and exhibition galleries will debut with a preview of the new museum October 15 and 16, 2016, during the annual Yorktown Victory Celebration event marking the anniversary of America’s momentous 1781 Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown.

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown site plan

Re-created immersive environments in the galleries will provide a tangible connection to people and events of the Revolutionary period.

Designing and Creating Custom Ornaments/Gifts/Coins, SINCE 1974. "Let us Tell Your Story" Fundraising Donor Recognition Awareness Corporate Gifts Anniversaries Gift Shops "40 Years of American Made Custom Collectables is our PASSION" www.thecharlestonmint.com

Contact The Charleston Mint 232 S. Caldwell St P.O. Box 401 Brevard, NC 28712 (800) 745-MINT or (828) 883-98988 eanne @thecharlestonmint.com gcneiman@thecharlestonmint.com

51

exhibitions

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark exhibit hallway.

ALABAMA Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, the nation’s only twentieth-century blast furnace museum, recently completed the installation of a rare wooden pattern exhibit in the lobby of the new Sloss Visitor Center, which opened to the public in February 2016. The patterns are symbols of the machinery of mass production

from a time when iron and steel communities were at the pinnacle of industrial achievement. Surrounding the intricate patterns are ten large “story boards” detailing not only the history of the development of Sloss Furnaces and the Birmingham Industrial District, but the individuals responsible for making Birmingham the “Pittsburgh” of the South. As one former worker stated, “A lot more than iron flowed from those furnaces. Our whole culture did.

Our whole way of life.”

52

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, Birmingham, Alabama.

ARKANSAS In late 2014, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art debuted its State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now exhibition, which showcased artists and artworks discovered when the museum’s curatorial team logged more than 100,000 miles, crisscrossing the country to visit artists in rural communities, small towns, and urban centers. The exhibition sought to explore what is happening in studios and creative communities and then introduce those artists to a broader audience. ¶ The positive response the exhibition received propelled the museum to offer two traveling versions to U.S. art museums: one utilizing a 5,000 square-foot space and another at 10,000 square feet. ¶ The two versions recently debuted — one in Savannah at the Telfair Museums and another at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). These venues tell the story that was begun at Crystal Bridges: great art is being made today by artists living and working across the nation. For more information, including exhibition dates, visit Telfair Museums and MIA sites. Additional dates/ venues for the traveling exhibition are in progress.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened The Open Road: Photography and the American Road Trip, on February 27, with the exhibition running through May 30. The Open Road includes more than 100 images and features the work of 19 photographers on the move across America from the 1950s to today. Organized by Aperture

Foundation, New York, The Open Road debuted at Crystal Bridges before traveling to Detroit, Amarillo, and St. Petersburg, FL, and represents the museum’s first largescale photography exhibition. ¶ The Open Road presents

Inge Morath, Outside Memphis, Tennessee, 1960. © Inge Morath/Magnum Photo

the story of the American road as inspiration, including iconic elements such as roadside motels, Mt. Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Route 66, the Pacific Coast Highway, and theme parks, as well as conveying everyday America. The images provide offbeat and personal 53

Ed Ruscha , Phillips 66, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1962. © Ed Ruscha, Courtesy of the artist

reflections of the photographers’ journeys, completed between 1955 and 2014, including the people they encounter, car culture, roadside attractions, and more. ¶ Photographers featured in the exhibition include Robert Frank, Ed Ruscha, Garry Winogrand, Inge Morath, William Eggleston, Lee Friedlander, Joel Meyerowitz, Jacob Holdt, Stephen Shore, Bernard Plossu, Victor Burgin, Joel Sternfeld, Alec Soth, Todd Hido, Shinya Fujiwara, Ryan McGinley, Justine Kurland, and Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs. Together, these photographers elevate the

snapshot — often taken through the window of a moving car — to a work of art.

GEORGIA What makes Atlanta “Atlanta”? Atlanta comes into sharp focus in the new Atlanta History Center exhibition Atlanta in 50 Objects, on display from January 16 to July 10, 2016. The exhibition is filled with prized Atlanta-rooted treasures — from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1964 Nobel 54

clockwise from the Atlanta History Center’s Atlanta in 50 Objects: This mod Delta Air Lines uniform dates from 1969; Michonne’s sword, complete with blood drops, from “The Walking Dead,” which is filmed in metro Atlanta; and a model of downtown Atlanta’s skyscrapers highlights John Portman’s buildings.

Peace Prize acceptance speech manuscript to Georgia Tech’s Ramblin’ Wreck and from a 1915 Coca Cola bottle mold to a touchable plaster cast of Willie B’s handprints — as well as plenty of surprises. When the Atlanta History Center first considered assembling a collection of 50 citydefining pieces, they quickly decided that the best experts were Atlantans themselves. Starting in November 2014, the Atlanta History Center solicited general ideas from the public through Facebook and other online platforms as well as a suggestion box onsite. Atlanta in 50 Objects was shaped from the roughly 300 suggestions that poured in over three-plus months, with History Center interpreters selecting items that best represented the themes that individuals suggested.

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will transport visitors to the warmth of California with

the exhibition David Ligare: California Classicist (February 13–May 8, 2016). Organized by the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, the exhibition includes 76 paintings and drawings, mostly borrowed from the collection of the artist and other private lenders. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1945, Ligare moved to California and began painting large canvases inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity in the late 1970s. The West Coast landscape and light form the background for images drawn from classical sources, such as his paintings Hercules Protecting the Balance Between Pleasure and Virtue, Orpheus, and Penelope.

LOUISIANA The National WWII Museum just opened its newest permanent exhibit: Richard C. Adkerson & Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries.

55

From the Georgia Museum of Art’s exhibition David Ligare: California Classicist: above: David Ligare, Penelope, 1980.

Oil on canvas, 40 x 48 in. Crocker Art Museum, promised gift of David Ligare and Gary Smith. left: David Ligare, Still Life with Grape Juice and Sandwiches (Xenia), 1994. Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, gift of Barbara and William G. Hyland.

56

above left: These leaflets, meant to warn Japanese civilians of impending firebombing and expose the weakness of the Japanese military to erode morale, were donated by Maurice Picheloup of the 39th bomb group. Picheloup took part in a night raid over Japan on August 14–15. Returning to base they received word of the end of the war. Gift of Maurice Picheloup, 2002.252.006. top right: Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters, the newest pavilion on the campus of The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, opened December 2014, with the dedication of its first-floor exhibition: Road to Berlin: European Theater Galleries. Road to Tokyo: Pacific Theater Galleries opened in December 2015. above right: Death at Japan’s Doorstep: First Assault onto Japanese Soil.

Retracing the grueling trail that led from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay, Road to Tokyo explores the evolving strategy for fighting relentless Japanese forces in Asia and the Pacific, examining cultural differences, logistical challenges and the staggering range of extreme conditions that confronted American military forces in Asia and the Pacific.

NORTH CAROLINA The Cape Fear Museum will showcase highlights of the

regions film history with its newest exhibit, Starring Cape Fear! For over 100 years approximately 3,000 screen projects have been created in North Carolina, ranging from movies and documentaries to television series and commercials. In the last 30 years, more than 400 of these productions were filmed in the Lower Cape Fear region. On view will be artifacts from several productions including Firestarter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, and Tammy. The exhibit opens April 22 and is on view through February 26, 2017 57

Animatronic turtle head used in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, gift of Max Goodwin. From the Cape Fear Museum’s exhibition Starring Cape Fear!

From the exhibition Southern Impressions: Paintings From the James-Farmer Collection at the North Carolina Museum of History: Lady With a Flower Basket by Alfred Heber Hutty(1877–1954) of Michigan.

Hutty became central to the Charleston Renaissance, creatingimages of local people and local architecture and capturing the essence of Charleston’s daily life. Painting from the collection of Dr. Everette James and Dr. Nancy Farmer of Chapel Hill.

Southern Impressions: Paintings From the James-Farmer Collection, currently on view at the North Carolina Museum of History, will take you on a historical journey that explores the cultural heritage, dramatic landscapes and diverse peoples that have shaped the South and the southern experience. On view through July 4, 2016, the exhibition features 40 loaned paintings from the collection of Dr. Everette James and Dr. Nancy Farmer of Chapel Hill alongside museum artifacts. “The variety of paintings by native-born and visiting artists captures their unique reflections of the South from 1820 through 1950,” says Michael Ausbon, Associate Curator of Decorative Arts. “The artists convey the beauty — and the harsh realities — of the region’s history.”

Also on view at the North Carolina Museum of History is Made Especially for You by Willie Kay. For nearly six decades, Willie Otey Kay transformed dreams into dresses for Tar Heel brides, deutantes, and partygoers.

The esteemed Raleigh designer overcame hardship and transcended racial boundaries to create a successful business. Made Especially for You by Willie Kay will showcase ten of her exquisite creations that include wedding gowns, formal dresses, and a debutant gown. The free exhibit will run through September 5, 2016.

Willie Otey Kay works at her dress form, 1981. Courtesy of the News & Observer.

58

59

Willie Otey Kay created this stunning teal satin gown, which Elizabeth Otey Constant embellished with sequins and rhinestones, for Louise Wooten in 1954.

Willie Otey Kay made this mother-of-the-groom dress of satin brocade with handcrafted cabbage roses. Doris Dosher wore the dress to her son’s 1959 wedding at Raleigh’s First Baptist Church.

SOUTH CAROLINA The Columbia Museum of Art recently opened their latest exhibition, REMIX: Themes and Variations in AfricanAmerican Art. This groundbreaking exhibition includes a wide variety of work dating from the early 20th century to the present. REMIX highlights the practice among many African-American artists of retelling or refashioning themes, ideas, and objects in new ways and from their own unique perspective. Indeed, the title REMIX is a reference to how African-American musicians sample other music by quoting it in new musical works, and this same process goes on in the visual arts. REMIX will not only impress viewers with highly creative objects, it will invite

discussion about history and how artists create entirely new works. It’s on view through May 3, 2016.

TENNESSEE The Knoxville Museum of Art presents it’s first-ever exhibition dedicated to the history and legacy of the groundbreaking artists who worked and exhibited together in the fifties and sixties and eventually became known as The Knoxville 7. The KMA-organized exhibition, on view from January 29 to April 17, 2016, features more than 60 works culled from the museum’s extensive holdings, augmented by loans from collectors around the region.

60

Robert Birdwell (Knoxville 1924; lives and works in Knoxville), Face of a City, 1957. Oil on canvas, 32 x 40 inches, Knoxville Museum of Art, gift of the Knoxville Arts Center, 1986.

Richard Clarke, (Noblesville, Indiana 1923–1997 Knoxville), Untitled (Maine Coast), 1965. Watercolor on paper, 18 x 24 inches, Knoxville Museum of Art, gift of Pam and Scot Reeder, 2012.

61

innovations

CLIO Museums looking for ways to reach new audiences may be interested in Clio (www.theclio.com), a free educational website and mobile application created by historians at Marshall University. Clio works though out the US and uses GPS to connect users to the history that surrounds them with entries that help people discover the history behind monuments, markers, buildings, and museums. Each entry can include links to relevant websites, related books and articles. Clio is free and its designers welcome public historians to use the platform to drive physical traffic to museums and virtual traffic to museum websites.

SERA launches new website. Click seregistrars.org to visit.

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHES There have been a couple of notable new website launches since the first of the year. Both the Costume Society of America

and the Southeastern Registrars Association (SERA) have revamped their websites to be both more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate. Check them out at www. seregistrars.org and www.costumesocietyamerica.com.

62

The Costume Society of America launches new website. Click costumesocietyamerica.com to visit.

FLORIDA In January, MOCA Jacksonville introduced a new identity that spans all of its print and digital products, from signage on the building and Museum directories to email communications and social media accounts. This new

look embodies the sophisticated, metropolitan institution MOCA has become. “With this reinvented identity, MOCA Jacksonville is poised to continue its growth on a national scale, highlighting Northeast Florida as a burgeoning center for arts and culture,” said Marcelle Polednik, director and chief curator. “This work is the culmination of a multiyear process of identifying our strengths and goals.”

63

J. M. Ke l l e y l T D.

Specializing in the Preservation of Period Architecture and Interiors 5075 Old Traveller Lane • Mechanicsville, VA 23111 • Phone: (804) 200-5705 • www.jmkelleyltd.com

Media for Museums—Immersive, Meaningful, Fun!

WASHINGTON, DC

MIAMI

TORONTO

From media master planning through installation, we produce touchscreens, theaters, videos, environments and interactives.

www.hillmanncarr.com 202-342-0001

64

GEORGIA The Atlanta History Center has been hard at work to break down barriers and unite Atlantans through history.

As they approach their 90th birthday this year, not only has their 33 acre campus undergone some exciting transformations, but they are looking for meaningful, relevant, and engaging ways to fulfill their mission to connect people, history, and culture. ¶ One of those initiatives is an exciting new volunteer program for high school students. The Atlanta History Center is launching a Youth Ambassador Program to introduce students ages 15–19 to museums, public gardens, curation, and community outreach. This is a unique opportunity for students interested in not only these fields, but for anyone looking to gain broadly applicable skills that have become a necessity for those entering today’s professional workforce. Participating volunteers will be better prepared for a variety of disciplines, no matter their future career path. ¶ As a Youth Ambassador, students will have the opportunity to participate in and support various events and activities throughout the year, helping to create a fun yet educational environment for AHC visitors and promoting awareness of the AHC and its purpose. Youth Ambassadors will be required to make a minimum one school year commitment to service projects. They will be expected to perform a minimum of 50 volunteer hours, and/or support four key programs and high volume times (weekends). There is also mandatory orientation and training sessions.

NORTH CAROLINA The Cape Fear Museum has partnered with the YMCA to bring quality exhibitions and educational programs to families in their area through its new Community Membership program. For only $50 the community can buy a Community Membership for a family. The Cape Fear Museum Associates are partnering with the YWCA Lower Cape Fear’s Grandparent Support Network (HSN) to distribute the first free family membership to those who otherwise would be unable to access Museum programs.

Recycled Fundraising Strategies Won’t Fit Your Museum!

To some, storage is boring. But not when you are storing precious museum pieces and artifacts.

We love helping you figure out the best ways to store your stuff – and store more in less space.

Comprehensive Development Counsel 404.525.7575 www.fundraisingcounsel.com info@alexanderhaas.com

For us, storage is anything but boring!

Customized strategies for: Comprehensive, Capital, Acquisition and Endowment Campaigns, Campaign Strategy Studies, Advancement Assessments, Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Development Training for Curators, Volunteers and Development Staff

65

people and places

Heather Malcom, Director of Development, The Georgia Museum of Art.

GEORGIA The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia has filled two crucial positions for its future, hiring Heather Malcom as director of development and Keith Thalhamer as director of security and facilities. ¶ Malcom has spent almost 17 years in UGA’s Division of Development and Alumni Relations. Most recently, she was senior director of donor relations and stewardship. She has a master’s of science from UGA and a bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Science and Journalism, also from UGA. In addition, she is a member of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Columbus, Leadership Athens and Chi Omega Sorority.

Malcolm’s first major task is to focus on endowing curatorial and staff positions at the museum as part of UGA’s ongoing billion-dollar capital campaign. ¶ Thalhamer is a newcomer to Athens and was most recently commander of special operations at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, which has a security staff of more than 125 employees. In that position, Thalhamer not only planned staffing for day-to-day security posts and special events, but also crafted policies, developed training, audited security systems and processes and served as a project manager for administrative initiatives and security upgrades. Prior to his work at the National Gallery, where he held progressively more responsible positions from 2004 66

Keith Thalhamer, Director of Security and Facilities, The Georgia Museum of Art.

to 2015, he served as a cavalry scout in the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. Thalhamer has a bachelor’s degree in international relations with a minor in Middle Eastern studies from California State University, Chico, and an associate’s degree in sociology from Butte College, Oroville, California.

NORTH CAROLINA Reynolda House Museum of American Art has named Phil Archer the Betsy Main Babcock Director of Program and Interpretation, replacing Elizabeth Chew who left in August. Archer, who has been director of public programs at the museum since 2002, brings nearly 20 years

of experience to the position. In his new role as director of program and interpretation, Archer will oversee museum exhibitions, archives, programs, educational outreach and the volunteer program. As Reynolda House prepares for its centennial year in 2017, Archer will co-lead the museum’s enhanced interpretation project, which will unveil new ways to tour Reynolda House and the estate.

TENNESSEE The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center has named James L. Zimmer as executive director of the organization. Zimmer replaces Alan Robison, who took 67

Phil Archer, Betsy Main Babcock Director of Program and Interpretation, Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

a position in Anniston, Alabama, in October of this year.

Hailing from Springfield, Illinois, Zimmer has 27 years of experience at AAM (American Alliance of Museums) accredited organizations. His current position is director for art and history at the Illinois State Museum System.

Previously, Zimmer served as the director of the Illinois State Museum-Lockport Gallery for 16 years. Prior to that he managed the Sioux City Art Center in Sioux City, Iowa, where he led a $9.2 million capital campaign and construction of a new 45,500 square-foot facility. Âś Zimmer has been involved in all aspects of museum leadership and strategic planning. His M.A. in community arts management from University of Illinois-Springfield and field experience has strongly influenced his philosophy of community-centered programming, life-long learning, and partnerships.

Zimmer’s experience also includes development, fundraising, financial management, exhibit curation, collections management, public relations, marketing, and facility management.

James L. Zimmer, Executive Director, Customs House Museum and Cultural Center.

68

what’s happening Send information for What’s Happening to Susan Perry at sperry@semcdirect.net.

NATIONAL MUSEUM MEETINGS Association of Art Museum Curators annual conference is May 7–10, 2016, in Houston. For more information visit artcurators.org.

The National Museum Publishing Seminar will be held May 12–14, 2016, Aqua Tower, 225 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago, IL. The only program of its type in the world, NMPS brings together the professionals who publish within museums and similar institutions for discussion related to interpreting museum collections to a diverse public in an expanding array of media. This three-day seminar takes place every other year, and travels around the U.S. to showcase the latest regional expertise among professionals in different museums. Speakers and attendees are drawn from the publications, digital media, and marketing departments at art, science, and history museums, as well as professionals from university presses, small publishers, and design firms. They are joined by

sponsors and exhibitors who serve museums by providing paper, printing, photographic expertise, design, writing, editing, packaging, and other services. NMPS To learn more, visit grahamschool.uchicago.edu/noncredit/ professional-development/national-museum-publishing.

AIC/CAC-ACCR Joint Annual Meeting & Conference will be held May 13-17, 2016, in Montreal, Canada. For more information visit conservation-us.org.

The American Alliance of Museums 2016 Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo of the will be held Thursday, May 26 – Sunday, May 29 in Washington, D.C. Museums are powerful community assets economically, culturally, educationally, and as places to convene and discuss issues of the day. They memorialize historic events and bear witness to political and social change. They strive to foster healthy dialogue and provide a venue for healing and renewal. Museums use their power to teach respect for cultural differences and foster community cohesion and sustainability. How is your museum using its power?

To learn more, visit www.aam-us.org.

Association of Academic Museums & Galleries

Leading Academic Museums and Galleries in the 21st Century Mark Your Calendar!

AAMG 2016 Conference • Washington, DC May 2016 AAMG/Kellogg Leadership Seminar • Chicago June 19-24, 2016 Become a Member Today •Professional support specific to academic institutions •Access to best practices and sample policies •Networking opportunities •Professional development •Reduced program registration rates

CONNECT WITH US

DISPLAY PROTECT EXPLAIN To find out more about our art display systems contact: Paul Mastriani 10-31 Inc. Toll-Free: (800) 862-9869 Email: pmastriani@10-31.com www.absoluteproduct.com

www.aamg-us.org

69

The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG) will hold its annual conference May 24–25, 2016, in Washington, D.C. For more information visit aamg-us.org.

The next AAMG/Kellogg Leadership Seminar will be held June 19–24, 2016. This seminar, in conjunction with the Kellogg School of Management Center for Nonprofit Management at Northwestern University, was piloted in 2012 and held again in 2014. Up to 40 applicants will be identified as participants. For more information and to apply, visit aamg-us.org. The application deadline is January 15, 2016.

The Association of African American Museums (AAAM) Conference is August 3-6, 2016, in Riverside, CA. For more information visit blackmuseums.org.

The American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) annual meeting will take place in Detroit, Michigan. The conference will run September 14–17, 2016.

For more information visit aaslh.org.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services currently partners with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to provide support to libraries through the distribution of information, education materials, and training session on immigration and citizenship. USCIS is

interested in expanding this work to provide support to museums that are engaged in serving immigrant populations. ¶ The current IMLS-USCIS agreement supports USCIS’s mission to promote instruction and training on citizenship rights and responsibilities and raise awareness of the importance of citizenship. At the same time, it supports IMLS in its efforts to foster cross-cultural understanding, promote learning opportunities in a trusted environment, and help libraries find new ways to serve their communities. ¶ New opportunities for collaboration with museums may include informational webinars on USCIS’s educational materials, training for museum staff on citizenship programming, and coordinating with local USCIS field offices to hold naturalization information sessions or naturalization ceremonies at museums. Please see the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center for more information on the citizenship resources that USCIS provides. If your museum is interested in USCIS resources or engaging with USCIS, please contact Christopher Reich, Senior Museum Advisor, at creich@imls.gov.

STATE MUSEUM MEETINGS Kentucky Museum and Heritage Alliance Date: June 12-14, 2016 Location: Hopkinsville, KY

THE FINE ARTS CONSERVANCY

• Paintings

• Master Framing and Period Frames

• Paper, Documents and Books • Sculpture and Decorative Arts

• Furniture and Giltwood • Survey and Condition Reports

West Palm Beach 561.684.6133 • Miami 305.444.6282 lab@art-conservation.org www.art-conservation.org

70

Florida Association of Museums Date: September 18–21, 2015 Location: Pensacola, FL

MonuMental Service.

HiStoric SucceSS.

Louisiana Association of Museums Date: September 13–15, 2016 Location: Alexandria, LA

From admissions, to your café, gift shop and website – keep your museum running with our reliable payment acceptance solutions.

Linda Wise McNay, Ph.D. 404-895-5942 linda.mcnay@gmail.com www.ourfundraisingsearch.com

855.79 4. 26 02 w w w.OdysseyMS.net

[ METAL ARMATURE HOLDERS ]

[ LINEN WRAPPED RISERS ]

[ MALE CONSERVATION HEADFORM ]

GAYLORD ARCHIVAL ®

Preserve Today. Share Tomorrow.

As the details unfold...

We have all the finishing touches for your exhibition at

GAYLORD.COM/DisplayAccessories call: 1-800-448-6160 | web: GAYLORD.COM [ ACRYLIC RISER ]

Donor Recognition Specialists

From Uniquely Designed Individual Plaques To Complete Donor Wall Programs…. We are your Source!!!

Materials Include: Hardwoods/Veneers, Metal, Glass, Acrylic, Stone & Resin Panels to Match your Décor CNC Routing, LASER Etching, Plasma/Water-Jet Cutting, Sand-Carving, Digital Printing & Graphics and LED Lighting

[ ACRYLIC COLUMNS ] [ NUMBER BLOCKS ]

[ INSECT PINS ]

[ DOLL STANDS ]

1.800.426.6473 | www.fabricationspecialists.com

71

important dates may 16, 2016 Summer 2016 Inside SEMC article and ad deadline may 2 – july 15, 2016 SEMC 2016 Annual Meeting early registration july 15 SEMC 2016 Exhibition Competition deadline july 15 SEMC 2016 Publication Competition deadline july 15 SEMC 2016 Technology Competition deadline july 15 SEMC 2016 Scholarship Applications deadline july 15 SEMC 2016 Resource Expo early registration deadline aug 5 SEMC 2016 Awards Nomination deadline sept 9 SEMC 2016 Hotel Room Block deadline sept 26 SEMC 2016 Regular Registration deadline oct 10–12 SEMC 2016 Annual Meeting, Charlotte, NC

semc job forum SEMC Job Forum offers employers and job seekers the ability to search and post jobs on SEMC’s website.

SEMC Job Postings are now self-serve for a flat fee of $20 each job description, regardless of the word count. SEMC Member Institutions may post a job announcement to this forum and pay-per-post by following the link: Job Posting $20.

get social Want to receive regular updates about SEMC benefits, events, membership, and much, much more? Click the links below: Subscribe to our weekly e-News.

Follow us on Twitter.

Follow us on Facebook.

Join our LinkedIn Group.

Follow us on Pinterest.

Follow us on Instagram.

72

membership Name _________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Position_______________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Institution _____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________ City__________ State_______ Zip ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone _____________________________ Fax ________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Email Address __________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Individual Membership  Individual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45 $_______  Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 $_______  Retired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25 $_______  Benefactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $75 $_______ Institutional Membership (based on annual budget)  Below $100,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50 $_______  $100,000 - $249,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150 $_______  $250,000 - $499,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250 $_______  $500,000 - $1 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $350 $_______  $1 million - $5 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $450 $_______  Over $5 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $550 $_______  Academic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $250 $_______ Corporate Membership  Business Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $350 $_______  Corporate Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 $_______  Corporate Partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,100 $_______ A special gift of $_________ is enclosed to help support SEMC’s endowment. ___ Check enclosed (payable to SEMC) ___ I wish to pay with a credit card MasterCard  Visa  AMEX Credit Card #_____________________________________ Exp. Date ___________ | Signature (required for all credit card charges): _____________________________________________ mail to: SEMC/PO Box 550746/Atlanta, GA 30355 | or fax to: 404.814.2031 | SEMC FEIN #54-1042825

73

where TRADITION & INNOVATION meet 2016 SEMC October 10–12, Charlotte, NC